Playoff outcome for the 2018-19 Calgary Flames?

[TheRealPepman]

I need assurances that this team will not be a first round exit. I've been hurt enough. It's nice to be in awe of the 2018-19 Flames, but I haven't been fully taking this team for granted. I remember last year very well. By heart. And the years before that.

I'm sure some fans feel this way too. Especially those who watched the team from day one. I mean this team only went past the first round TWICE since 1989? SMH. And we only had FOUR playoff series wins since 1989? Oh goodness. (I only started watching the Flames in spring of 2015. Bandwagon fan turned die-hard LOL? Yup that's me.)

That said, please let me know if realistically you think this 2018-19 Flames are elite enough to win a round or two. That's all. #GoFlamesGo

[Bonded]

Let's get to the playoffs first...

[CaptainCrunch]

Bad Juju

[VilleN]

No assurances, but the team is as good as anybody, could easily win a round or more. Could also fall flat... although this team feels different to me...

[dino7c]

Winning the division would be nice...that 2-3 match up is usually a coin flip these days

[the-rasta-masta]

They are good enough to win a round or two. But President's trophy winning teams have lost in the first round, so nobody can assure you anything. That's what makes the game so much fun is the unpredictability, and that's what makes the wins so special.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by TheRealPepman

I need assurances that this team will not be a first round exit. I've been hurt enough. It's nice to be in awe of the 2018-19 Flames, but I haven't been fully taking this team for granted. I remember last year very well. By heart. And the years before that.

I'm sure some fans feel this way too. Especially those who watched the team from day one. I mean this team only went past the first round TWICE since 1989? SMH. And we only had FOUR playoff series wins since 1989? Oh goodness. (I only started watching the Flames in spring of 2015. Bandwagon fan turned die-hard LOL? Yup that's me.)

That said, please let me know if realistically you think this 2018-19 Flames are elite enough to win a round or two. That's all. #GoFlamesGo

There isn't any assurances any team in the NHL will get past the first round. That's the beauty of this sport.

Each team controls their own destiny and if they show up they have a reasonable chance of getting past round 1.

[Five-hole]

Only Flames fans could sit 2nd in the NHL and worry about the juju of a playoff thread.

[dammage79]

Yeah. I get a sick feeling in my stomach with all the relating to the 89 team and so on. This team is good, and fun to watch, I really don't want to tarnish it by adding crazy expectations like talking about parades or like I just said comparing them to the other cup run teams.

We've seen great regular season teams get rubbed out in a hurry in round 1.

All it takes is one long term injury to a top line guy or Rittich to set things ablaze.

[Barnet Flame]

I’ve only just got around to not bothering to check the wildcard race.

[Shazam]

Stahp.

[Itse]

I think this team will need the experience of a good playoff run before becoming a true cup contender, so anything after the first round I'm taking as a bonus.

Or to put it another way: what ever happens in the playoffs, this has already been a lot of fun.

Expectations are for next season.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Only Flames fans could sit 2nd in the NHL and worry about the juju of a playoff thread.

Hell yeah, for a lot of folks, this is rarified air we are in. Don't want to tie your shoelaces the wrong way because it could ruin everything in a strange butterfly effect.

If I could get away with not changing my lucky game day underwear or whatever, I'd do that, but I hate smells. Bad juju is bad.

[TheScorpion]

Generally speaking, I consider the following categories when determining a team's legitimacy.

- Elite offensive talent
- Positive-value depth forwards
- Great coaching
- A defense containing a true #1, multiple puck-movers, and a positive-value hard-nosed defenseman
- Two consistent and reliable goaltenders
- Good AHL scorers/defenders who can be counted upon in case of injury

Take the 2010 Blackhawks, for instance. They fit all of these categories to a tee.

- Elite offensive talent: Kane, Toews, Sharp, and Hossa were all fantastic offensive players who drove their team all the way
- Positive-value depth forwards: those Blackhawks were deeeeeep. Versteeg, Bolland, Brouwer, Ladd, Kopecky, and Madden were all huge.
- Great coaching: Joel Quenneville was the best coach in the NHL. They also had an insane 85% penalty kill. Only wart was the PP.
- A defense containing a true #1, multiple puck-movers, and a positive-value hard-nosed defenseman: yep! Duncan Keith had 69 points that year and counts as one of their puck-movers. Seabrook was actually good that year, and so was Brian Campbell. Dustin Byfuglien was a hard-nosed menace on the back-end, and Hjalmarsson was tough as hell. Brent Sopel was their #6 -- crazy depth.
- Two consistent and reliable goaltenders: This is the one area where the Blackhawks kinda missed the mark. Antti Niemi came out of relative obscurity to steal the starting job from the veteran Cristobal Huet. Niemi was by no means excellent but did the job throughout the playoffs, finishing the postseason with a .910 save percentage... and 16 wins.
- Good AHL scorers/defenders who can be counted upon in case of injury: Adam Burish and Bryan Bickell both proved valuable at times for that team. Nick Boynton was a depth guy near the end of his career who they used in the playoffs, too.

So, look at the Flames. They have a ton of similarities.

- Elite offensive talent: Gaudreau is Kane. Monahan is Toews. Lindholm is Hossa. Tkachuk is Sharp. With those comparisons, I'm not trying to suggest that the Flames' guys are necessarily equal in quality... they're just similar in terms of relative production and role.
- Positive-value depth forwards: this is still a work in progress, but Backlund, Jankowski, Frolik, Bennett, and Ryan form a good depth core for this team. Neal is a work in progress, but he has a reputation of coming through in bigger games.
- Great coaching: Bill Peters has been a revelation and has this team playing some of the best hockey ever. Like Quenneville, he's coming off an unsuccessful stint with another team, the name of which also starts with the letter 'C.' But he's pulled through. The new PK coach, Huska, has been great at player-utilization, and Ward has made a lethal PP1. The one wart is PP2.
- A defense containing a true #1, multiple puck-movers, and a positive-value hard-nosed defenseman: Giordano is a true #1. Brodie and Hanifin are both great puck-movers, and so is Valimaki when he's healthy. Hamonic is hard-nosed and has been a great possession player this year.
- Two consistent and reliable goaltenders: Like Chicago, this is the one big area of concern. Rittich has been better so far than Niemi was in 2010 but Smith has been worse than Huet. But the optics are similar -- Rittich usurped Smith -- and if they can ride Rittich in the playoffs, they might find a similar result.
- Good AHL scorers/defenders who can be counted upon in case of injury: The Flames have quite a few forwards who could be useful in case of injury. Andrew Mangiapane, Dillon Dubé, Spencer Foo, Alan Quine, and Matthew Phillips could all help out up front. The defense is less certain -- Rinat Valiev is probably the best bet currently on the farm.

Right now, the comparisons look good to me. Of course, no two teams are ever the same.

[Johnny Makarov]

We should all be cheering on the Wild. There is NO WAY i want to see the Ducks in the playoffs.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

We should all be cheering on the Wild. There is NO WAY i want to see the Ducks in the playoffs.

I'm just not scared of the Ducks any more. Nor the Wild, but there's no Ducks mystique for me. I'm more concerned about teams in the upper half.

[Looch City]

We won't make the playoffs.

[Tyler]

Solid second round performance and I will be happy. Anything more is gravy with this squad IMO.

[Jaydee]

Wouldn't mind sweeping the ducks

[Strange Brew]

Too early to say it? Dynasty?

If this team can go from being as bad as they were last year to playing as well they are right now, then I think it's fair to believe anything can happen.